Until recently Christine Buckley, a 42-year-old mother from Leicester, could not even spell her own name. 'My writing was like that of a two-year-old child,' she said. 'I could not read signs. I was an embarrassment.' She did not admit it to anyone, not even her family.

She remembers when one of her two sons, twins Daniel and David, brought home a letter asking whether he could go on a school trip. Even if Buckley could have read the words, she would not have been able to provide a signature. 'So I did not sign it and he did not go on the trip,' she said. 'He asked why and I had to pretend I had forgotten.'

In another incident, a friend asked her to buy some sweet-and-sour sauce from the supermarket. Buckley said she walked past the jar six times, but could not read the words. The only things she could make out in a supermarket were peas and beans. In the end she asked a member of staff to take her to the product. 'I always used to ask people to read things for me, saying I had forgotten my glasses, but my eyesight is fine,' she said. Not being able to read or write meant that Buckley could not put herself forward for any job that required her to fill out an application form. 'All I could do was cleaning and then I worked at a frozen foods factory packing food.'

Buckley has many regrets about her childhood. 'I used to skive all the time at school, I told them it was a waste of time and I was not going,' said Buckley. 'I wanted to work in an office, but could not. If I could have my life again, I would go to school and learn, learn and learn.'

In 2005 Buckley, who had been a victim of domestic abuse for years, ended up in prison after attacking her partner. While inside she decided it was time to change things. 'They showed me a signature and I just copied it and copied it and copied it until I could do it myself,' she said. 'I loved doing it for the first time - I was in a hostel and I had to sign my housing benefit. It was wicked.'

But she was also very depressed. 'I had no home, no job, no car. I had lost everything. I was diagnosed with dyslexia and I was very embarrassed.' A doctor sent her to carry out basic literacy courses. 'When I did my first English course they wanted me to write something and I could not do it.' But she did not give up. She did courses in English, computing and one around working with people suffering from domestic violence. Eventually, she was given an award for her efforts.

Now Buckley is hoping to get a job working closely with the police and supporting victims. 'I ignored it before, now I have got a reason to get out of bed in the morning.' She is also encouraging her sons, now 23, one of whom is now in college, training to become a firefighter.